Railway Post Office

On August 28, 1864, while the nation was still in the midst of the Civil War, the Post Office Department established the Railway Mail Service. The new service revolutionized the way mail was processed by sorting mail aboard moving trains, not just in post offices. Trains had been carrying mail for almost 30 years by that time. Under that system, mail bags were loaded onto the trains to be carried to another post office for processing. Some were delivered, but many others were put back into bags for another train trip. Some postal officials began wondering if they could improve that process by putting clerks on the trains to sort mail along the way, dramatically reducing the time it took to receive a letter.

Images from Harper’s Illustrated showing how mail was exchanged between mail trains and stationary post offices.

A successful, if short-lived attempt to sort mail on moving mail cars had operated in 1862 on the Hannibal and St. Joseph (Missouri) line. George B. Armstrong, the assistant postmaster in Chicago, championed the idea and on August 28, 1864 the first such mail car (a renovated baggage car) was used on the Chicago & North Western Railroad line between Chicago and Clinton, Iowa. As the train moved along its route, clerks busily sorted mail to each post office along the way (and brought in mail from those offices which was also sorted). Clerks sorted the mail not only to routes on the line, but post offices past the end of the line. Newly established mail cars soon carried mail between New York and Washington, New York and Erie, Pennsylvania. Chicago routes were expanded to Chicago and Burlington, Illinois and Chicago and Rock Island, Illinois. Two clerks on average were assigned to each train car, and postal officials were soon boasting of 12 to 24 hours reduction in time of delivery.

While a pair of clerks could handle the mail in the 1860s, as more and more mail was moved onto the trains, more and more clerks were needed to process it. The train car could be a crowded workplace.

Just three years later, in his 1867 annual report, Postmaster General John Creswell noted that there were 18 such routes in operation in the U.S., over 4,435 miles of railroad track with 160 clerks at work processing the mail. At the same time, 30 clerks were dismissed or moved from their jobs in the post offices at New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, as railway clerks began to take on more of the load of processing mail. In his 1868 report, Creswell boasted of 26 railway lines in operation, with 297 clerks at work on the trains. The trend continued over the next decades, as moving more and more of mail processing onto trains brought a decentralization of postal operations.

Early mail cars were outfitted with lovely gas laps. Unfortunately, train collisions were common at the time and gas lamps too easily set the wooden train car and its paper mail contents aflame.

This new method of sorting the mail was developed just when railroads began to crisscross the nation on a regular basis. The service grew as railroads came to dominate America from the end of the 19th century through World War II. After the war, airlines and highways improved, taking passengers away from railroads. The declining passenger traffic brought a decline in railroads and their mail cars. At the same time, postal officials were putting more emphasis on mechanical processing techniques, machines that needed large factory-sized buildings for operations, not tight, moving, train cars. The final railway mail car run was completed on June 30, 1977, as the train from New York pulled into Washington’s Union Station.

By the 20th century clerks were working in strong steel mail cars with electric lighting.

Learn more about the Railway Mail Service and the clerks who served on the trails here.

On April 18, 1891, near Kipton station, 40 miles west of Cleveland, Ohio, the fast mail train #14 collided with the Toledo Express. The fast mail was running at full speed, and the Toledo express was almost at a spot where it would traditionally pull over on a siding to let the fast mail pass. The massive collision killed nine men, six of them postal clerks working on the fast mail train.

A line of freight cars and the station itself may have impaired the vision of the engineer of the fast mail train. He apparently applied his breaks as soon as he saw the Toledo express on the road, but it was too little, too late. According to one newspaper report, “The engine of the Toledo express was knocked squarely across the track, and that of the fast mail reared in the air, resting on the top of the other. The fast mail consisted of three mail cars and two parlor cars, and the Toledo express of five coaches and two baggage cars. The first and second mail cars were telescoped and smashed to kindling wood, and the third crashed into the first two and rolled over on the station platform, breaking the windows of the building.” (1)

The Railway Mail Service clerks killed in the wreck were all from Ohio. They were Frank Nugent of Toledo, J.L. Clement of Cleveland, James McKinley of Conneaut, and Charles Hammil, John J. Bowerfield, and Charles L. McDowell, all of Elyria. This horrific wreck, which made headlines across the country, brought the dangers of serving as a railway mail clerk home to the nation. In the weeks following the wreck, newspapers and magazines produced a number of stories highlighting the lives and work of railway mail clerks. The Post Office Department emphasized the wreck in their continuing calls for railway companies to produce steel mail cars instead of wooden ones which provided little protection for clerks in collisions.

Investigators determined that the Toledo express crew was at fault. Their train was late and should not have started out for Kipton, knowing that the fast mail was approaching on the same line. The investigation centered on the engineer’s watches, one of which was possibly four minutes slow. A mere four minutes was the difference between life and death on the line.

The General Superintendent of the line in question, the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railroad, appointed Cleveland, Ohio jeweler Webster Ball to investigate time keeping issues on the line. Ball’s investigation resulted in the establishment of watch performance and inspection standards in 1893.

At Kipton, wooden mail cars offered little protection for the clerks working inside.

Remnants of train cars at Kipton following the collision.

An historical marker at Kipton tells the story of the tragic wreck of 1891.

Most people think of train robberies as a 19th century event, complete with Butch and Sundance blowing up a train car, or Jesse James and his gang taking on the evil railroad companies. But a violent and tragic train robbery attempt was made in 1923. On October 11 of that year, three men, twins Roy and Ray DeAutremont and their young brother Hugh ambushed Southern Pacific train #13 in southern Oregon, just as the train was emerging from a tunnel.

The detonator used by the brothers is now in the National Postal Museum.

The trio’s goal was $40,000 in gold they believed was being carried in the mail car. The car’s railway mail clerk, Elvyn Dougherty was in the secured mail car when the boys approached. Unable to force their way inside, they decided to blow the door open using dynamite and a detonator (left) they had stolen from a construction company.

The boys had no idea what they were doing and used far too much dynamite. The blast destroyed the car (above), killing clerk Dougherty and obliterating most of the mail. During their robbery the boys also shot and killed the train’s conductor, engineer, and fireman, not wanting to leave any witnesses. There was no gold and the three fled the scene with nothing. They managed to elude authorities for three years.

The brothers were eventually brought to justice after an extensive manhunt was rewarded in February 1927 with the arrest of Hugh DeAutremont. He had joined the army under the name James Price and was serving in the Philippines, where he was recognized by a barracks buddy. Hugh claimed he did not know where his brothers were, but his arrest revived media interest in the story and Ray and Roy were recognized and apprehended in Steubenville, Ohio, a few months later. They were living under the name of Goodwin. All three were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

Hugh DeAutremont received a parole in 1959 and died roughly two months later in San Francisco. Roy was given a frontal lobotomy while in prison and was paroled in March, 1983. He died three months later in a nursing home. Ray was paroled in 1961 and died on December 22, 1984 in Eugene after working for years as a custodian at the University of Oregon.

Wanted posters announced the $15,900 bounty on the brothers. Posters were distributed across the U.S.

By Allison Wickens, Director of Education at the Postal Museum and Owney fan

“When you go traveling with Owney, you’re never in a lonely world.”

Just like these song lyrics promise, with the new Owney: Tales from the Rails e-book available today, you’ll never be far from Owney and his jingling tags. Owney’s story is now available online and in a free iPad app with narration and a soundtrack featuring country singer Trace Adkins. And once you hear this gem of a song, you’ll be humming along too!

Owney is joining the ranks of the beloved characters now telling their story via e-book. The adorable portrayal and animated illustrations invite readers to discover more about this globe-trotting dog. He crisscrossed the country in the 1890s riding on mail train cars and collecting tokens for his harness along the way. His story inspired the release of an Owney postage stamp last summer. The e-book continues the great series of materials featuring Owney made available in 2011, including an exhibit, curriculum guide, and an augmented reality app.

Never before has Owney’s story come to life in such a way—combining world-class animated illustration with standout narration and a soundtrack. The moving images and musical elements enrich the narration in ways a print book cannot. In playful color on over 60 pages, children read and hear the adventures of Owney. Narrated through contemporary eyes, the story is based on primary sources with a dash of imagination. I’m so proud that this book combines such heart and artistry with historical accuracy. Listen to the Owney song here, sung by Trace Adkins and written by Stephen Michael Schwartz.

I have always enjoyed introducing visitors to Owney when I give tours of the museum. Young and old; from near and far—they always look at me a little stunned to learn that this dog led such an adventurous life so many years ago. Now with the Tales from the Rails e-book, I can share Owney’s rich story with his friends and fans around the world. I read it with my friend five-year-old friend Ella this weekend to much enjoyment. I also gave her dog, Mr. Darcy, a chance to browse the story, but he seemed more interested in dreaming of his own adventures than reading about Owney’s. Perhaps it is a story better explored with the people in my life, rather than the dogs.

Owney, the postal dog, has been commemorated on a U.S. Postage stamp. On July 27th, the first-day-of-issue ceremony was held at the National Postal Museum. Owney and many of his tags are on display in the museum’s atrium.

July 2011 also marked the 100th anniversary of the Post Office Department’s transfer of the contents of its museum to the Smithsonian Institution. Among the objects transferred to the Smithsonian was the stuffed figure of Owney.

The museum keeps a permanent file for each donation or transfer of objects, called an accession file. The file for the 1911-12 transfer is identified with the unique accession number “52985.” Each item transferred through this accession is given an identifying index number. Owney’s full accession number is 52985.274. The original papers in the accession file identify Owney as item #42 in the section of “Portraits, Paintings, Photos, Mail Equipment and Miscellaneous Articles” (below). Owney is described as “the dog that travelled on postal cars (with postal clerks) all over the United States and made a trip around the world.” His catalog card describes him as a “stuffed dog.”

Owney Catalog Card

Looking through the “52985” accession file is almost as interesting as reading about Owney’s travels while he was alive. Owney continued to travel to expositions posthumously – most notably to the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair and to the Philadelphia Exposition of 1926. The accession file includes correspondence related to the Smithsonian’s loan of Owney to the Post Office Department for the purposes of exhibition at the 1926 Sesqui-Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The correspondence even includes the packing receipt shown below.

Owney certainly was a well traveled dog and from the accession record, we can trace his Smithsonian history from his transfer to the “National Museum” and initial display at the Smithsonian’s Arts and Industries building until 1964 when he traveled across the National Mall to the new Museum of History and Technology (now the National Museum of American History), where he resided until he moved to his permanent home at the National Postal Museum in 1993. Owney’s traveling days are over, but we look forward to receiving more documentation about his life as a mascot of the Railway Mail Service and his history at the Smithsonian Institution.

For more information on Owney visit the museum's special Owney web page.

The Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum has announced the development and release of new curriculum and supporting materials based on the museum’s beloved “Owney the Dog.” The announcement took place at the recent Smithsonian Institution’s annual Teacher Night held this year at the National Museum of the American Indian with more than 4,000 teachers in attendance. The 60-page full-color curriculum guide features four different units that use the story of Owney the Dog to meet reading, writing, math, social studies, science and art standards. The lessons are designed to provide inspiring and meaningful interdisciplinary experiences in classrooms from kindergarten through third grade.

Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, N.Y., post office in 1888. He loved the mail and began to ride with the mailbags on Railway Post Office train cars across the state and then the country. In 1895, Owney even made an around-the-world trip, traveling with mailbags on trains and steamships to Asia and across Europe. The RPO clerks adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags from his stops on his collar. He has been preserved and is on display at the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.

The curriculum guide features four themed interdisciplinary units on mapping, autobiography, jobs and primary sources. Targeted towards second grade learning standards, these lessons combine to illustrate the life and legacy of Owney the Postal Dog. The curriculum is developed in tandem with Owney-themed technology tools, including an e-book and an augmented reality postage stamp. Also accompanying the curriculum are worksheets, rubrics and companion lessons for students with special education needs.

“Owney stands iconic at the Postal Museum because he is such an engaging entry point to U.S. history” said K. Allison Wickens, director of education at the museum. “In this curriculum, we linked his adventurous story to a myriad of elementary school topics to better serve teachers in the areas of social studies, reading, math, writing, science and the arts. Many teachers have already discovered his powerful presence in their classrooms and with their guidance, we are confident these new lessons will find a place in many more.”

“Kids connect with Owney because dogs are still around nowadays, whereas other aspects of history have changed and advanced over the years—they ‘get’ him,” said Alexandra Roosenburg, learning and technology coordinator for the Primary Campus/Washington International School. “Having a mascot like Owney for the students to interact and identify with when learning about U.S. history and geography makes learning more fun, and thereby worth their while!”

A special online microsite has been created for the Owney curriculum (www.npm.si.edu/owneycurriculum) and resides on the museum’s main website. The site features a downloadable curriculum guide for teachers, which includes units on maps, jobs, tags and stories. Worksheets, rubrics and other resources are also available on the site.

The museum makes other teacher resources available on the museum’s recently redesigned website for educators at www.npm.si.edu/educators.

As you may have heard, on July 27, 2011, Owney will be honored with his very own postage stamp. To celebrate this great occasion, this is the fourth in a series of blogs celebrating some of Owney’s tags.

Owney, the most famous dog of his day, was famous foremost for traveling. So it should be no surprise that among those who honored the dog with a tag were gentlemen from another well traveled group – Michigan’s “Knights of the Grip.” This organization of traveling salesmen recognized their fellow wanderer with this distinctive token. The tag’s shape and design represented the association’s symbol.

It is not known if Owney ever applied for an official membership from the organization, which required its members be employed for at least a year as a traveling man, in good health, “not afflicted with any chronic disease, and not addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors as a beverage, residing or traveling in the State of Michigan, who is actively engaged in selling goods at wholesale, adjusting insurance or as superintendent of agencies.” Annual dues were set at $1.00.

Owney was a common mutt, recognized as at least part terrier. If not for his national fame, he would have had no place at a dog show (called “Bench Shows” at the time). Not only did he attend some, but was the star attraction of at least two such shows, including the large 1893 Los Angeles show.

This tag was engraved for, and given to, Owney during a 1896 dog show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The tag notes that it was awarded to “Owney the Globe Trotter” by the Butterfly Bench Show of Grand Rapids. On December 10, 1896, the Los Angeles Times noted that the show opened with “300 entries divided into eighty classes. The exhibits are of a much better class than last year, including some of the finest dogs in the country.”

Owney was no stranger to dog shows; although by no stretch of the imagination would anyone have called him one of the “finest” show dogs in the country. Promoters celebrated his adventures and travels, not the dog’s pedigree. While Owney’s attendance at dog shows across the country often made the news, not all approved. A short notice in Turf, Field and Farm’s May 13, 1892 issue noted that “Owney, the mail dog, . . . is again the means of filling considerable space. Not that he has done anything particularly new, but because space at this time is so hard to fill. Owney’s cognomen should be ‘Blarney.’”

The Los Angeles newspapers welcomed Owney with open arms on each and every visit. In a column from April 20, 1893, the LA Times noted that Owney “arrived last evening on the through express train from the north in the most opportune time for renewing acquaintance with his many four-footed friends gathered at the bench show. Owney is the best known dog in the United States and enjoys the reputation of being the greatest bummer on the continent. He makes periodical trips across the country from the East, always riding on the mail-car, and enjoying the freedom of getting off when and where he pleases, and continuing his trip again without molestation or being troubled with the disagreeable duty of having to pay fare.”

As you may have heard, on July 27, 2011, Owney will be honored with his very own postage stamp. To celebrate this great occasion, this is the second in a series of blogs celebrating some of Owney’s tags.

Among the many tags admirers gave Owney during his travels were little metal tokens known as “trade checks.” These tokens were usually “good for” free items, or a few cents off of a product. They were used much as coupons are today. A merchant could offer free or discounted products to lure customers in for additional purchases.

Owney received this trade check token, which was “good for 25-cents in trade” from Champeny Bros., a Mitchell, SD, department store. As there is no date on the token, it is unknown exactly when Owney received this trade check. According to dates on other tokens Owney received while in Mitchell, SD, he may have received this during trips in 1890 or during the fall of 1892.

A stop at Mitchell was in keeping with Owney’s affection for the railway mail. The town had been named for Alexander Mitchell (Oct. 17, 1817 – April 19, 1887), who was the president of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad. The line ran from Wisconsin into the southern portion of the state at that time. Owney’s token is now in the collections of the National Postal Museum. Early in the morning of July 29, 1896, the Champeny Bros.’ department store building was discovered on fire. Although the fire was confined to the first and second floors of the three-story building damage was significant and the owners listed $40,000 in loses for their goods.

In November 1958, New York Jeweler Harry Winston mailed his unique donation to the Smithsonian Institution. That donation was none other than the world famous Hope Diamond. Winston and jewelers across the country entrusted the common, everyday mail carrier with their gems. When asked about using the mails for the Hope Diamond, Winston told reporters that he typically used registered mail for sending his treasures.

The National Postal Museum may not have this famous gem in its collection, but it is the repository of the package used to mail the gem (above). Winston paid $145.29 to mail the gem, $2.44 for postage and the rest for $1 million in insurance.

The Postal Museum is connected to this story in yet another way. The gem traveled from New York to Washington, D.C. in a Railway Post Office train car. When the train arrived at Union Station, the package was taken across the street to this building (which served as the City Post Office at that time). Here, it was picked up by postal carrier James G. Todd, who immediately drove the package to the National Museum of Natural History (where the gem is still on display) where Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution Leonard Carmichael signed for the package on November 10, 1958.